Somali pirates have hijacked a supertanker in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya. This made big headlines because of the size of the ship — the biggest vessel every hijacked. But apparently it’s a big problem on a regular basis. Right now 18 vessels are being held for ransom, and most of the ransoms are paid, according to NPR. If the pirates are caught, they’re usually released because no one really knows where to try them. And apparently you can’t really shoot them when they come after you.

Some very clever entrepreneurs have started a company called Anti Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, which follows its company name with “Non-Lethal” in parentheses.  For $30k, they put three men and a bunch of pirate-deterring equipment on a ship, and they ward off potential pirates. One technique: They hook up an iPod with an audio system that blasts really obnoxious noise that is unbearable to human ears up to 1000 feet away.

The point of this little news brief is to demonstrate an opportunity that someone took advantage of to make a living. It’s kind of like the clever people who developed the industry of “staging” houses to sell them. Interior designers come into a house and make it adorable and comfortable so it’ll sell faster.

The Anti Piracy company is poised to make a heck of a lot of money in the next few years, since piracy is on a dangerous upswing. The people who stage houses? Not so much. Their businesses are struggling as the real estate industry sags.

So how do you find an opportunity and ride a wave, then turn that wave into a sustainable business? What if governments all of a sudden figure out a way to stop the pirates, or what if the ships themselves figure out a better way to deter an attack? Where will the new Anti Piracy company be?

I’m riding a wave myself, brought about from the struggling economy. Companies are cutting back on their internal marketing staffs, but they still need stuff written. In fact, many of them know that they need marketing material even more now than they did before, since they HAVE to reach out to keep making a living. So I’ve got some job security in this economy, but what happens when the economy improves?

My clients are all looking forward right now. Many of them are successful today, and they’re all creating strategies with me to remain successful. It’s a reminder to me to keep doing the same, to think through business scenarios that may reflect what the future will hold.